California DUI Penalties: Three Strikes
Napa DUI Lawyers are always weary of new DUI legislation. Read this article about a proposed law that will suspend a drivers license for life if you get three DUI convictions.
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“California’s Third Strike Law, if passed, will allow judges to revoke an offenders driver’s license permanently if he is caught with a third DUI conviction. Introduced in 2010 by San Mateo assemblyman Jerry Hill, the Third Strike Law may also allow the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ to review a repeat offender’s lifetime drunk driving record as opposed to the current policy, as of July, 2010, in which the DMV only looks at the previous 10 years.
Third Offense DUI Laws and Penalties
In California, a third DUI conviction within a 10-year period is a misdemeanor, while a fourth offense will land a DUI driver in prison with a felony. Third-time DUI offenders are designated “habitual offenders,” spend 120 days to one year in jail, are fined $390 to $1,000, and lose their licenses for three years. Convicted third-offense DUI drivers may apply for restricted licenses within a year, but ignition interlock devices are required for all drivers, and offenders must complete the state’s Driving Under the Influence program before getting back on the road.
Third DUI Offense Laws For Under 21 Drivers
Under California’s Zero Tolerance Law, any under-21 driver caught with a second or subsequent DUI within 10 years will be penalized with a one-year driver’s license suspension. A driver under age 21 who refuses to take a blood alcohol content, or BAC, test at the time of his third arrest within a 10-year period will have his license revoked for three years.
Third DUI Offense Laws For Serious Injury and Death by Vehicle
A second or subsequent DUI offense in which a driver causes serious injury or death to another person is a serious offense in California. The penalty for bodily injury caused by a second or subsequent DUI within a 10-year period ranges from 90 days to a year in jail with fines from $390 to $1,000. If any DUI causes the death of another person, the offender will be charged with vehicular manslaughter, which carries a state prison sentence of up to 10 years in state prison, or gross vehicular manslaughter, which carries a sentence of one year in county jail or up to four years in state prison.
